Commercial and Industrial Designers

Develop and design manufactured products, such as cars, home appliances, and children's toys. Combine artistic talent with research on product use, marketing, and materials to create the most functional and appealing product design.

tasks jobzones knowledge skills abilities work_activities work_context interests work_styles work_values

Tasks

• Advise corporations on issues involving corporate image projects or problems.

• Read publications, attend showings, and study competing products and design styles and motifs to obtain perspective and generate design concepts.

• Participate in new product planning or market research, including studying the potential need for new products.

• Develop industrial standards and regulatory guidelines.

• Investigate product characteristics such as the product's safety and handling qualities, its market appeal, how efficiently it can be produced, and ways of distributing, using and maintaining it.

• Fabricate models or samples in paper, wood, glass, fabric, plastic, metal, or other materials, using hand or power tools.

• Supervise assistants' work throughout the design process.

• Develop manufacturing procedures and monitor the manufacture of their designs in a factory to improve operations and product quality.

• Design graphic material for use as ornamentation, illustration, or advertising on manufactured materials and packaging or containers.

• Evaluate feasibility of design ideas, based on factors such as appearance, safety, function, serviceability, budget, production costs/methods, and market characteristics.

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Job Zone

• Name: Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

• Experience: A minimum of two to four years of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

• Education: Most of these occupations require a four - year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

• Job training: Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

• Examples: Many of these occupations involve coordinating, supervising, managing, or training others. Examples include accountants, human resource managers, computer programmers, teachers, chemists, and police detectives.

• Svp range: (7.0 to < 8.0)

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Knowledge

Browse Knowledge

• Design
  Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

• Mathematics
  Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

• Engineering and Technology
  Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

• Clerical
  Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.

• Computers and Electronics
  Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

• Mechanical
  Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

• Administration and Management
  Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

• English Language
  Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

• Production and Processing
  Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

• Customer and Personal Service
  Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

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Skills

Browse Skills

• Reading Comprehension
  Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

• Time Management
  Managing one's own time and the time of others.

• Coordination
  Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

• Critical Thinking
  Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

• Operations Analysis
  Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.

• Mathematics
  Using mathematics to solve problems.

• Judgment and Decision Making
  Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

• Active Learning
  Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

• Equipment Selection
  Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.

• Complex Problem Solving
  Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

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Abilities

Browse Abilities

• Oral Comprehension
  The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

• Written Comprehension
  The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

• Oral Expression
  The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

• Information Ordering
  The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

• Fluency of Ideas
  The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

• Originality
  The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

• Deductive Reasoning
  The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

• Near Vision
  The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

• Visualization
  The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.

• Written Expression
  The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

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Work Activities

Browse Work Activities

• Thinking Creatively
  Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.

• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
  Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

• Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
  Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
  Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
  Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

• Drafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and Equipment
  Providing documentation, detailed instructions, drawings, or specifications to tell others about how devices, parts, equipment, or structures are to be fabricated, constructed, assembled, modified, maintained, or used.

• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
  Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

• Processing Information
  Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.

• Interacting With Computers
  Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.

• Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
  Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.

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Work Context

• Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
  How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?

• Face-to-Face Discussions
  How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?

• Electronic Mail
  How often do you use electronic mail in this job?

• Spend Time Sitting
  How much does this job require sitting?

• Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
  How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job?

• Time Pressure
  How often does this job require the worker to meet strict deadlines?

• Work With Work Group or Team
  How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?

• Freedom to Make Decisions
  How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?

• Contact With Others
  How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?

• Telephone
  How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?

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Interests

Browse Interests

• Artistic
  Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

• Realistic
  Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

• Enterprising
  Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

• Investigative
  Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

• Social
  Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

• Conventional
  Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

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Work Styles

• Attention to Detail
  Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

• Dependability
  Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

• Analytical Thinking
  Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.

• Integrity
  Job requires being honest and ethical.

• Initiative
  Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.

• Cooperation
  Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

• Independence
  Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.

• Persistence
  Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.

• Innovation
  Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems.

• Adaptability/Flexibility
  Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.

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Work Values

Browse Work Values

• Achievement-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.

• Ability Utilization
  Workers on this job make use of their individual abilities.

• Achievement
  Workers on this job get a feeling of accomplishment.

• Creativity
  Workers on this job try out their own ideas.

• Independence-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employs to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.

• Working Conditions
  Workers on this job have good working conditions.

• Autonomy
  Workers on this job plan their work with little supervision.

• Compensation
  Workers on this job are paid well in comparison with other workers.

• Responsibility
  Workers on this job make decisions on their own.

• Recognition
  Workers on this job receive recognition for the work they do.

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